The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Vehicular travel in traffic and population dense urban areas requires significant driver attention. Maneuvering a vehicle in such areas requires driver attention to traffic flow, road conditions, signage, traffic signals and pedestrian traffic. The time spent in traffic reduces the time available to the driver for other personal and work related activities.
Autonomous or semi-autonomous control methods are known, wherein a vehicle is equipped with devices capable of locating the vehicle to the road and to other traffic on the road and control methods are employed to augment or substitute driver control of the vehicle.
Employing vehicles optimized for urban settings in combination with control methods utilizing autonomous control is desirable.